Question by : How long did bread lines in the USSR last?
Yes. How long did people have to wait in line to buy bread.
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Answer by K2010
Please re-phrase
do you want to know how long did it take to stay in line to buy bread?
OK, right after Great Patriotic War, at near famine situation, people would have to get up at the middle of the night and stay in line for hours, and not alway they would come home with bread. It was not enough. And, at this time, it was limited, as well as other products like wheat, soap.
During my young and adult time in the USSR, I don’t remember line to get bread. It was always enough. The “cupon” to get oil, butter, soap was re-introduced to Ukraine in late 80th. A family would have only be able to buy certain amount of these products a mouth, there was a huge line up, and not always, we would go home with it. But I think bread was ok.
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wschmerz says
The soviet government view BREAD as the top priority item, it tried its hard to provide population with enough bread for dirty cheap price. As socialistic agriculture turned less and less productive, in later soviet years a substantial share of the "oil money" were spent to buy wheat.
Surprisingly, while people in cities and larger towns did not experience difficulties with buying bread, villagers usually were able to buy bread once per several days and not more then certain amount (determined by the local administration, usually this amount was set to two standard "bricks") per person.
At the very end of the Soviet Union the system of "planned centralized production and distribution" began to fall into pieces and shortages of any kind occurred more and more often. I personally remember standing in bread lines in 1980th in Donbass region of USSR took several hours. However, this was a completely random thing: you might stand in long bread lines today, but have bread in abundance next week (but no soap and tea instead, for example).
Dsp Delena says
The same time as today.
a truck brings fresh bread in 7:00 am (11:30 am and 5:00 pm). The driver gives the bread to the seller at least 15 or 25 minutes. Then they both spend 5 minutes for filling papers (so called shipping documents), then the truck gods away, the seller is ready for work again.
so, if you came to buy bread in 7:00 am you can do it in 7:30.
in any other time you can do it immediately.
The same situation was in USSR. (or do you mean periods of Military Communism and Great Patriotic War? This is another case but it's unfair to tell about "waiting bread in USSR" just because of 7 years)